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Cop kills African American in South Carolina, both were in the Coast Guard

Apr 8th, 2015 · Comments Off on Cop kills African American in South Carolina, both were in the Coast Guard

More details have emerged about Walter Scott, the unarmed African-American man who was fatally shot by a police officer in North Charleston, South Carolina.

Officer Michael Thomas Slager was caught on video shooting Walter Scott in the back eight times after he fled an arrest attempt.

According to this report, Walter may have fled officer Slager because he owed child support for his four children. This was also not his first run in with the law as he has been arrested ten times in the past, but they were mostly non-violent offenses.

Officer Slager reportedly pulled over Scott’s Mercedes on Saturday for having a broken taillight. During the traffic stop, Slager originally reported that he feared for his life because Scott had taken his stun gun during a scuffle. The video that emerged of the incident appears to show otherwise. The video shows Scott fleeing the scuffle and Officer Slager firing eight shots into his back.

Many news sources have taken the opportunity to cover this story as a “White” officer killing a “black” man, but a little fact that has been widely under reported is that Officer Slager and Walter Scott are both veterans of the Coast Guard.

According to the Associated Press, Scott and Slager received honorable discharges after serving in the Coast Guard for at least two years. It is not known if the two men served during the same period or if they ever crossed paths, but either way the Coast Guard mourns the loss of one veteran while the other faces 30 years to life in prison.